THINGS TO DO IN NASHVILLE IN APRIL
Spring is always packed full of music and food festivals, the start of baseball season, and so much more! Here is just a sampling of events taking place this month in Music City during Awesome April!
FESTIVALS
Nashville Fashion Week
Tuesday, March 31 – Saturday, April 4
Nashville Fashion Week is a celebration of the city’s thriving fashion and retail scene featuring local, regional, and national designers alongside industry professionals in an array of creative events throughout the week. Ticket proceeds to the runway shows and other events benefit the Fashion Forward Fund of The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee. Each year, NFW gives an annual award to a lucky recipient for professional development in a fashion-related field. Maria Silver, 2018’s recipient, is a graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York with a background in women’s contemporary clothing and costume design. Her fashion line, Black by Maria Silver, has been featured in Nylon, Bust, Refinery 29, Elle, and others and she opened her first storefront on Woodland Street in East Nashville in 2017.
Tuesday, March 24 – Saturday, March 28
Each year hundreds of songwriters and thousands of fans flock to Nashville for the world’s largest all-songwriter festival. This year, 11 venues around Music City host more than 400 songwriters as they tell the stories behind hit songs and perform the songs as they were originally composed.
Follow along with our TIN PAN SOUTH coverage for festival highlights!
Friday, April 3
The Preds Wine Festival & Tasting, hosted by the Nashville Predators Foundation, features more than 225 higher-end wines, beers, and spirits along with an extensive silent auction. For an exclusive tasting experience, VIP tickets can be purchased and include a five-course dinner paired with hand-crafted wines in the Patron Platinum Club.
Saturday, April 18
3 Crow Bar hosts the 10th Annual East Nashville Beer Fest with lots of craft beer, food trucks and live music curated by Mike Grimes. This year the festival expands their offering of Belgian, German and import beers thanks to Woodland Wine Merchant. Festival organizers encourage attendees to rideshare to the festival with special Lyft codes in order to help relieve parking along with keeping the roads safe.
Saturday, April 4
Celebrating the spring and Japanese culture, the Nashville Cherry Blossom Festival is a family-friendly event that includes Japanese music and dance, cultural lectures and exhibits, a roving Japanese “Candyman,” martial arts demonstrations, arts and crafts, anime merchandise, a Cosplay contest, and the Cherry Blossom Walk. Some of Nashville’s favorite food trucks will offer up special menus with a variety of Japanese cuisines. Proceeds will benefit the Japan-America Society of Tennessee’s 10-year mission to plant 100 Japanese cherry trees each spring in Nashville parks and neighborhoods.
Saturday, April 25
The Nashville Wine and Food Festival promotes Nashville’s nationally recognized local cuisine and music. The 6th annual festival will feature more than 150 wines from over 30 of the country’s premier wineries, paired with delicious bites from Nashville’s top restaurants. Highlights include a beer garden, cocktail lounge, and live music from local bands.
Are you a Nashville Local? Plan your Staycation with our SPRING BREAK PAGE!
SPORTS + OUTDOORS
Nashville Predators
Saturday, April 4
There is only one regular season home game left in Nashville, but there is playoff hockey in our future! The Nashville Predators not only clinched the first spot in the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs, they also won home-ice advantage for the duration of their playoff run.
View the updated schedule as playoff announcements are made!
The Nashville Sounds play their 41st season in franchise history and 4th as the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics. The games offer a family-friendly atmosphere for fans of all ages to come and enjoy good company, good food, and a good game.
Nashville Sounds vs. Iowa Cubs
April 10-12
Nashville Sounds vs. Omaha Storm Chasers
April 13-16
Nashville Sounds vs. New Orleans Baby Cakes
April 25-29
Friday, April 24 & Saturday, April 25
Highlights of the 2020 Whip Crackin’ Rodeo include saddle riding, a silent auction, and festival foods like corn-on-the-cob, hotdogs, and pizza. On Friday, the rodeo will include a mini-rodeo event for special needs children filled with fun, games, and a small sample of the rodeo. In 2017, the rodeo raised over $40,000 for local charities, with over $350,000 being raised in just eight years.
Saturday, April 25
The Rock ’n’ Roll Marathon and 1/2 Marathon is one of Nashville’s largest block parties. First, runners start in front of Lower Broadway’s honky tonks and wind through downtown passing spots such as the Country Music Hall of Fame and First Tennessee Park. Then, runners continue through some of Nashville’s trendiest neighborhoods before ending at Nissan Stadium. In true Music City fashion, there is live music infused throughout the course with Hunter Hayes as this year’s headliner at Ascend Amphitheater.
Looking for even more fun things to do during Awesome April?
ARTS + STAGE
Artist’s Perspective: Mel Ziegler Nashville Submitted
Now through June 24
From 2011 to 2016, Nashville artist Mel Ziegler periodically drove across the United States with a supply of new American flags. When he saw a flag that was faded, weathered, or frayed, he would offer to replace the old flag with a new one, renewing people’s outdoor displays while acquiring the materials for Flag Exchange. Ziegler says, “It is good that we renew and regenerate weathered flags. . . . Capturing them in this moment is what . . . gives them new meaning, new life.” During this lecture by the artist, learn more about Flag Exchange and his artistic practice, which is centered on social and community engagement.
Ginna Claire Mason and Mary Kate Morrissey. Photo by Joan Marcus.
April 7-19
Created by Gerard Alessandrini, the comic mastermind behind the long-running hit “Forbidden Broadway,” and performed by a versatile cast of seven, Spamilton is a side-splitting new musical parody.
English
Arabic
Chinese (Simplified)
Chinese (Traditional)
French
German
Japanese
Korean
Kurdish (Kurmanji)
Spanish
Vietnamese
